Sunday, 14 August 2011

'Birmingham for Tariq Jahan' by Carol Ann Duffy:

After the evening prayers at the mosque,
came the looters in masks,
and you three stood,
beloved in your neighbourhood,
brave, bright, brothers,
to be who you were –
a hafiz is one who has memorised
the entire Koran;
a devout man –
then the man in the speeding car
who purposefully mounted the kerb …

I think we all should kneel
on that English street,
where he widowed your pregnant wife, Shazad,
tossed your soul to the air, Abdul,
and brought your father, Haroon, to his knees,
his face masked in only your blood
on the rolling news
where nobody's children riot and burn.

The land of my parent’s birth, Pakistan, is 64 years old today. This is no day for celebration in fact it is a day of mourning. Leading up to 1947, 1 million human beings were slaughtered when the Indian sub continent was partitioned in the name of religion. The partition brought out the worst in Hindu, Muslim and Sikh character. Thus for me the dust of Pakistan has always been sacred as it contains the DNA of countless butchered dreams.

Although I am a British Born Confused Desi, Pakistan remains a constant source of pain and hope. Part of my schooling took place in Islamabad and I have lived and worked there.In short I have an intense almost OCD love hate relationship with Pakistan. For me Pakistan is PhD thesis gone wrong, BIG TIME.

All I ask is whether the major stakeholders in Pakistani society especially the media, the government, and the military junta have honoured the memory of those slaughtered in the creation of Pakistan? Successive governments are mirrors of Pakistani society which is addicted to intrigue, politicking and mediocrity. Unfortunately my people care more for entertainment and little for development.

Not until the elite class / establishment are truly willing to serve and the average Khan Pakistani lives for Pakistan we will continue to go from one tragedy to the next...

“Truly, God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.” (Quran 13:11)

This 43 year old ex-commander of the JKLF renounced violence when he was released from an Indian jail in 1994 and even though he has been re-arrested and tortured numerous times he has successfully stood his ground. He is correct when he says that he MORALLY, SPIRITUALLY, AND POLITICALLY beaten the Indian state. This is a man who has suffered for the vast majority of his life but his reading and experience of the Muslim mystics during his incarceration has transformed him beyond any measure.

Today Yasin has singlehandedly transformed the violent Kashmiri uprising into a formidable indigenous peace movement that has shaken the Government of Delhi to its core... He has won the imagination of the Indian youth who are now demanding that Kashmiri’s be given their right to self determination.

It’s a terrible shame that he is not more widely known to Western Muslim diasporas’ as his message of democratic and peaceful change are badly needed to counter extremism and inject hope. My Palestinian friends could learn much from him.

It’s my birthday! Celebrating 36 years and counting...Well it has and remains one heck of a ride! Ma Sha Allah...

I have been blessed with many trials, tribulations, failures, losses, set backs, betrayals which have transmuted into the finest manure for my soul...Now as I write in the comfort of a warm bed surrounded by a loving life partner, the sweetest baby daughter and a renewed focus what more can a man ask for? This is the harvest which I have sown (really been blessed with) and will continue to cultivate with all my being...Inshallah...

...Friends believe the miracle...for the road to success is always under construction...

I am shocked to see my beloved England burning and in the grip of such unprecedented turmoil.

I was rather bemused when during a TV report a young delinquent girl was justifying the violence in terms of lack of respect for the youth by the Police. What a load of cods wallop!

This is not the time to analyse this fluid situation as the security of the common citizen and his or her property is of primary importance. However, according to Wikipedia the definition of respect is:

Respectdenotes both a positive feeling ofesteemfor apersonor otherentity(such as a nation or a religion), and also specific actions andconductrepresentative of that esteem. Respect can be a specific feeling of regard for the actual qualities of the one respected (e.g., "I have great respect for her judgment").

According to Sufi culture respect begins with ‘self-respect’ which is fuelled by healthy and meaningful choices. And respect for someone else or an institution is actually self-respect.

I am sure there will be a deep post-mortem after this tragedy however the path to self-respect starts now and is never ending...

Friday, 5 August 2011

However behind the bravado is a weeping heart that pines for a reformed and thoroughly 21st century Islam which I wholeheartedly endorse. As usual it’s the way the message is delivered which is the problem with Tarek Fatah and if he transformed his rhetoric into a meaningful intra-Muslim dialogue he would gain so much more grass roots support.

He seems to forget that the vast majority of the 1.3 Billion Ummah is illiterate and therefore cannot access his work or thought. If he worked with the ‘main stream’ Muslim orthodoxy he could achieve so much more and crucially change the hearts and minds of Muslims. Granted the latter are no angels but unfortunately they hold the keys to the poor Muslim masses that are besieged by so many conflicting socio-economic challenges that it is little wonder that they give their blind support / obedience to the local mullah. Since, it is the Mullah who holds their hand during times of crisis when elite Muslim intellectuals are enjoying audiences with Western Prime Ministers or attending gala dinners held by think tanks.

The global Muslim community is well into Ramadan or the month of fasting which is dictated by the lunar calendar. We poor Muslims living in the Western hemisphere are opening our fasts around 9pm!

It’s tough but deeply rewarding. The first sip of juice and a date are really life affirming and one has to be careful to avoid over indulgence. Fortunately I have the most of Ramadan off and consequently I am spending my time reading, reflecting, writing and sleeping!

I am hoping to my start ‘Coffee with Allah’ sessions where I sit in silence in the early hours, sip coffee and listen to my heart...

"We will show them Our signs in the universe and within their own beings until it will become manifest to them that it is the truth." (41:53)

The report tackles issues / questions / challenges such as identity and belonging for British born Muslims that I have personally been grappling with for years. I was struck by the boldness and range of ideas that crucially emanate from Quran and Sunnah.

This report comes at a cross roads in my life as I had recently jettisoned damaged dreams of settling abroad in the Muslim World. It sounds crazy but Great Britain is socio-politically more ‘Muslim’ than the entire Muslim world combined which can and must learn. Thus it is high time that British Muslims wholeheartedly give rather than take from this secular society at large...

We Muslims need to recognise that ‘favoured nation status’ is a privilege and not a guarantee and Allah can appoint even perceived Muslim adversaries to do his work and become Khalifahs or His Vice-regents.

Wednesday, 3 August 2011

This tri-year event is organised by the Islamic Society of Britain and transforms into a platform for truly the very best in British Islam. It was a glorious vignette of cutting edge Muslim thinking coupled with showcase halaal / kosher entertainment!

I have never attended a family gathering of several thousand Muslims that covered practically every school of Muslim thought from Sufi to Salafi to even Progressive! At times I was left stunned at the organisation and cheeky gatherings of young Muslims clearly in love!

Wow! I have a waited a long time for something that has the potential to become a blue print from Muslim communities up and down Great Britain.

English Defence League et al watch out we Muslims are here to stay and beautify Great Britain if not the entire cosmos...Inshallah...

Followers

About Me

I am currently an accounting & finance academic and previously worked as a Chartered Certified Accountant / CPA specialising in Not-For-Profit-Accounting / Auditing / Consulting and the SME sector.
I have lived, worked and studied in Central Asia, Turkey, Canada, USA, Pakistan and the United Kingdom. I have also visited Africa and China for the first time this year.